Oz Blog News Commentary

Ali Safran wanted to turn the anniversary of the date she was sexually assaulted into something positive. The Mount Holyoke College senior didn't expect the resulting project in its first year to grow into a nonprofit corporation that inspired legislation in California and created classroom lessons used as far away as Turkey.

Let there be no mistake: the future and openness of the Internet is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, recent headlines could easily lead someone who hasn't followed Internet policy to think the United States recently and suddenly decided to give up control over the Internet - and that this will give rise to censorship and other misfortune around the world.

Recently, Speaker John Boehner asserted the following: "The president can go out there and tout all the people he's signed up, but how about the young man I talked to last week out in California whose premiums have doubled? His co-pay and deductibles tripled, and his wife's hours got cut to 29 hours."

First, let me say what you read here is going to be wrong in several ways. High frequency trading, or HFT, covers such a wide path of trading that different parties participate or are impacted in different ways. I wanted to put this out there as a starting point. Hopefully the comments will help further educate us all.

1. Electronic trading is part of HFT, but not all electronic trading is high frequency trading.

Dancing is one of the things I love the most. As a young girl I studied at a theatre school called Barbara Speake Stage School and was trained in all forms of dance - tap, contemporary, a bit of ballet...

When I first started my modelling career I didn't know anything about modelling poses and so just relied on what I knew from dance. I think this gave me a bit of an advantage starting out because I was seen to be moving in a unique way and this got me some positive attention. (I need to point out here that I did know how to do a runway walk, because my mother taught me that!)

I get it. I get that we all want to look like a glamorous celebrity by posting our Cobb salads on Instagram (and let's be honest, you probably didn't really enjoy that Cobb salad). I understand that. I am guilty of posting something on Instagram in hopes to look like my life is immensely interesting. (I am sitting on my bed with a glass of milk and Lily Allen music in the background, so that shows how interesting I really am.)

I often get asked about my research process for the Buffer blog. For my science and life hacking posts in particular, I rely heavily on scientific research to back up my points, so there's a lot of research to be done.

Chinese tech companies have splurged on major acquisitions of U.S. high tech firms in the first quarter of 2014, spending big bucks in pursuit of the markets, technology and talent found in the U.S., according to a report released Tuesday by the Asia Society and the Rhodium Group. But with cybersecurity questions driving a wedge in U.S.-China relations recently, the acquisitions are generating equal amounts of excitement and anxiety.

It may have been short-lived, but my experience on DWTS was intense. Every single person I come across, friends and strangers alike, start with their own assumption: "It must have been SO MUCH FUN!!" Actually, fun is not the word for my particular adventure. It was intense.

With news that another shooting tragedy has hit Ft. Hood, my heart is breaking for the families of those who were wounded and killed by a gunman who is said to have purchased a gun, off-base, brought it on to the base, and unleashed carnage. While many details are still unknown, it is too early to talk about what may have triggered this incident and what, specifically, could have stopped it. However, there are three broad points to keep in mind as news unfolds.

Brendan Eich, the newly named CEO of the software firm Mozilla Corporation, resigned from the post after angering gay rights activists and some in the tech industry for his opposition to same-sex marriage.

Eich's views on gay marriage came to light in the days following his appointment last week to run Mozilla, best-known for its Firefox browser. News re-emerged of a $1,000 donation he made in 2008 supporting California's Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage referendum.

If wealth and income weren't already so concentrated in the hands of a few, the shameful McCutcheon decision by the five Republican appointees to the Supreme Court wouldn't be as dangerous. But by taking Citizens United one step further and effectively eviscerating campaign finance laws, the Court has issued an invitation to oligarchy.

The Higgs boson — a particle thought to explain how other particles get their mass — is tiny, but it may not be the tiniest particle yet. Theories have long predicted the existence of even smaller particles that might make up the Higgs, and recent research suggests these pip-squeaks, dubbed techni-quarks, are likely lurking in the universe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is not amused that Samsung is promoting a selfie with the president taken by Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz on a Samsung phone.

Spokesman Jay Carney says the White House objects any time the president's image is used for commercial purposes. Carney says in this case, quote, "We certainly object." Carney didn't say whether the White House has asked Samsung to stop using the image.

SEATTLE (AP) — A World Vision board member has resigned in protest after the Christian aid group quickly reversed its decision to hire employees in same-sex marriages.

Jacquelline Fuller, director of corporate giving for Google Inc., said in an email Wednesday to The Associated Press that she remains a "huge fan" of the group's work on behalf of the poor, but she resigned Friday "as I disagreed with the decision to exclude gay employees who marry." She declined to comment further.

A company by the name of Altaeros Energies, borne from the labs at MIT, is poised to break the record for the highest wind turbine ever deployed, with plans to float an electricity-generating device at an altitude of 1,000 feet above a site south of Fairbanks, Alaska.

I'm disappointed with the results of yesterday's ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC, as the Supreme Court strikes yet another blow against badly needed campaign finance law. But I am also exceptionally disappointed with the public reaction. Everything is within the context of the insider, beltway game of politics. Did the lobbyists win or lose? How will this affect mega-donors like Sheldon Adelson? Did the parties become more relevant than the super PACs? Did senior legislators get a leg up on fundraising?

Last week Sheldon Adelson was happily shopping for new candidates to bankroll, and this week the Supreme Court has ruled that the wealthy can pour exponentially more cash directly into our political system than they could before. If you're a billionaire looking to buy political influence, this is your month.

The Tesla Model S comes equipped with a 17-inch touch screen in its center console, from which drivers can connect to the Internet and browse the Web -- even while the car is in motion. And what online info is so important that Tesla riders can't wait to get out of the car to look up? A digital advertising firm has the answer, and we have to admit we're a little surprised by what it is.

You know them. You've seen them. You might even be one. Well, not you, of course. You're cool. I'm totally talking about that annoying friend you have. Yeah... that's the ticket.

So even though I am a parent and I love parents, the fact of the matter is we can be an infuriating bunch. The know-it-all mentality, the one-upmanship, the showboating -- it can all be a little much at times. Unfortunately, social media -- and Facebook especially -- serves as a virtual bullhorn that broadcasts that obnoxiousness across the Internet and beams all the bullshit directly to your laptop, tablet or phone.

Casinos. Banks. Airports. We all know there are public places where we're being watched, ostensibly for crime-prevention purposes. But with the advancement of digital technologies, "Big Brother's" reach has gotten way wider, recording our movements—and our conversations—in a surprising amount of places.

As an Englishman I'd like to congratulate the Supreme Court of the United States for bringing America one step closer to monarchy. I know a lot of people might think this is a backward step, but come on... why did you leave in the first place? Decentralization of power, one man-one vote? Ugh! America already has an aristocracy far more powerful than any European country, including England. It's taken 250 years, but with these two brilliant decisions, Citizens United and now McCutcheon, the court has knocked down the last hurdles inhibiting the rich from buying the politicians outright.